Mark Stone Joins Association Staff

We are pleased to welcome Mark A. Stone as our new director of development. Mark joins our staff to continue a highly productive lifelong commitment to serving nonprofit organizations. He served as chief operating officer of the Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD) Foundation from 2004 until 2011 where he was the primary architect of a successful restructuring of the organization that more than doubled their budget, scope and impact. During Mark’s tenure, the PKD Foundation expanded from a national focus to a global view. He established three subsidiaries to catalyze therapy development and built a network of 70 chapters around the world to support the organization and people living with PKD. Including research support provided directly by the PKD Foundation and research funding from the National Institutes of Health and industry, research investments in PKD grew from $30 million to more than $75 million during Mark’s time with the organization.

More recently, Mark has served as chief executive officer of the American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI), a national federation of 150 Indian physician organizations representing 100,000 physicians across America. Mark also provided executive leadership to AAPI’s charitable foundation, expanding 17 clinics and hospitals in India funded by AAPI and dozens of free clinics serving underserved communities in the U.S. Mark’s earlier years were spent in several leadership positions with an international relief organization and serving faith-based communities.

As director of development, Mark will lead fund development to support growth and expansion of the Catalyst Fund, our research program and other mission-focused activities and infrastructure. His recruitment was facilitated by Patton McDowell & Associates, a development counseling firm we engaged to assess our internal capacity, lead the nationwide search for a highly qualified development professional and to develop a three-year funding plan to meet the organization’s goals.

Mark is enthusiastic about joining the Solve ME/CFS Initiative’s staff at this pivotal time for the CFS community. “I am excited about the direction of the Solve ME/CFS Initiative, its leadership and focus on patient-centered research. I feel privileged and challenged to combine my experience and expertise with the dedicated staff and volunteer leadership working together to advance research and accelerate the process of finding treatments and a cure for CFS.”

I believe that Mark’s skills will help unlock the organization’s potential. We couldn’t have asked for a candidate with a more tailor-made background than Mark. His track record with the PKD Foundation and experience charting and implementing strategies to cultivate and steward the resources needed to expand treatment research come to us at a time of unparalleled opportunity for the Association and the field of CFS research. I hope you’ll join me in welcoming Mark to our staff and our community!

Kim McCleary served as the Association’s chief staff executive from 1991-2013.